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U.S. House passes a delay to flood insurance rate increases
Source:
theadvocate.com
- Jun 7, 2013
by jordan blum
Advocate Washington bureau
June 07, 2013
3 Comments
WASHINGTON — The congressional fight to avoid potentially skyrocketing flood insurance rate increases in Louisiana and elsewhere made its first tangible gains Thursday.
The House approved legislation that would delay the rate hikes on “grandfathered” properties by a year.
The amendment delaying premium hikes for one-year was sponsored by Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge. It was added to the Homeland Security appropriations bill at close to 11 p.m. Wednesday after Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, and others helped win over 187 Democratic votes.
Cassidy called it a “victory for homeowners” in the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, after Congress last year reauthorized the NFIP with reforms that Cassidy argued allowed for “capricious rate increases” of 20 percent or more per year.
Nearly 500,000 people in Louisiana participate in the NFIP. The program has been in financial distress with a loss of more than $20 billion, largely due to payments made after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
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Category: General Business
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